Behavioural Insights Projects

Differences in the composition of seemingly identical branded food products (DC-SIP) has been a source of growing concern in the EU in recent years. This was particularly the case after tests conducted in several Member States (MS) confirmed the presence of differences in composition of some branded food products sold across different Member States. This report aims to contribute to the existing studies by verifying whether the presence of DC-SIP influences consumer preferences and willingness…

Institution: European Commission

Team: JRC Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights

In 2023 the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) partnered with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to expand on a 2020 survey undertaken by CSIRO that explored Australian attitudes to specific elements of the energy transition (with an emphasis on solar farms). For example, the perceptions of risks and benefits. This project has now expanded to further examine Australians’ acceptance (commonly referred to as ‘social…

Institution: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Team: Behavioural Science Unit

Rijkswaterstaat (the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) wants to induce behavioural change in several areas. The circular economy is one example. A study examined whether consumers will make more sustainable choices if they have been complimented on their past actions or behaviour that were environmentally friendly or sustainable. This proved to be the case. Why this experiment was conducted: additional incentive for sustainable behaviour Behavioural change is…

Institution: Rijkswaterstaat's Circular Economy & Waste department

Electricity bills are a key way to inform people about their plan and usage, but bills can be confusing and are not really useful to help people navigate the electricity market. BETA and the Department of the Environment and Energy ran a trial to test the impact of bill design on people’s confidence in their ability to look for a better offer and intention to do so. We drew on behavioural insights to design and test six electricity bills. We focussed on simplifying bill design to draw…

Institution: Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC)

Team: Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)

We seek to increase voluntary appearances for people with outstanding Warrants to Arrest (WTA) through reminder phone calls from Māori Wardens and Police. This Auckland-based project follows a proof-of-concept trial in the Eastern District, in which Māori Wardens made phone calls to people with outstanding WTAs and we compared voluntary appearances for those who were reached via phone to those who were not. While this first trial showed indicative evidence that phone calls may be effective,…

Institution: Other

Team: Behavioural Science Aotearoa

Countries across the globe suffer from high rates of youth unemployment and inactivity. The Maldives are not immune. Despite efforts by the government to increase employment opportunities among young Maldivians, including the establishment of employment quotas for nationals, results have been underwhelming. Young people face barriers such as social and gender norms around women’s role in society, absence of role models to look up to, and few jobs perceived as “suitable” for…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

Soiled waste disposal areas in municipal public housing buildings are not only a major nuisance for residents, but also cause high cleaning costs. The aim of the present study was to develop behavioral measures to promote cleanliness and to test them in a field experiment with about 400 waste disposal areas. The present paper compares two System-1 (large posters displaying watching eyes and a natural landscape) and two System-2 (financial information, information on normative behavior and…

Institution: Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS)

Team: Insight Austria

Smart energy services and demand flexibility are increasingly important topics. Levels of awareness in an Irish context are uncertain, but engagement is low. We test different ways of framing information on engagement and intention to be flexible. We record flexibility preferences by activity and flexibility mechanisms.

Institution: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)

Team: SEAI Behavioural Economics Unit

Behaviorally informed messages have had demonstrated success in increasing tax compliance in multiple regional settings. In Indonesia, which has the largest economy in Southeast Asia, a trial from the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) and World Bank teams looked at whether behaviorally informed messages and materials can impact tax compliance and payment rates among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The results showed, to get delinquent firms to pay their taxes, information is not enough -…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

It’s the end of April in Poland. While everyone is happy the harsh winter weather is finally getting milder, the Polish Tax Authority is worried because 62% of the country failed to pay their taxes on time. Over the past decade, the use of behavioral principles by tax administrations in different countries has been gaining ground. Given the country’s tax compliance rate, Polish authorities and the World Bank tested the use of behaviorally informed letters to late taxpayers in order to…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team